Mother-Daughter Wisdom: Understanding the Crucial Link Between Mothers, Daughters, and Health

I always look to see if an author stands in their truth. If they walk their talk. Dr. Christiane Northrup does. I have read all of her books, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, The Wisdom of Menopause and now Mother-Daughter Wisdom. They all embody her path to well-being and her knowledge on the subject of women's health. In her book Mother-Daughter Wisdom, she shares her own life experiences from raising two daughters and her expertise as a medical doctor and relates them to health and wellness. I find this book to be a great tool and guide to help mothers raise empowered daughters and a model for a healthy mother-daughter relationship. I have three grown daugthers and would have loved to have had this book when they were growing up. I found out through much trial and error how to raise empowered daughters. Dr. Northrup is a pioneer in our time venturing into these unchartered waters of how mothers and daughters can have a balanced and loving relationship. She addresses the many challenges in our society today facing girls and gives suggestions on how to deal with them in a positive way. She talks about mothers caring and nurturing themselves in order to care for their daughter. This book is also a reference book as Dr. Northrup covers from birth to adulthood for the many stages in a mother and daughter's life. Mothers, men, and women without children, would benefit by reading this book to connect with their own legacy with their mother or if raising a daughter.

First off, this book makes a great gift to anyone you know who has a daughter regardless of age. It makes a great baby shower gift, also. I just want to start by saying, I first saw this book and I skimmed through it, but didn't buy it. I was very skeptical. I am a well read individual and I was thinking: "I don't need another lame self help book by some would be expert that sits on my shelf that I never read. My daughter's five: there is a bunch of birth, pregnancy stuff in the book. I am past those stages and don't need a book that covers stuff I don't need." However, I ended up going back and getting the book. I am SO glad I did. Now I am here to say: this book is amazing. Reading the book made me want to read all of her books. I took so many notes and have already started using some of what she wrote. For those of you who consider yourself Moms who care about being good Moms, this book is a great compass for how to raise your daughters well. It doesn't matter whether your child is young, not born yet, a teenager, or full grown or if you are a Grandmother; you will be glad you read this book. I am so glad Christine Northrup wrote this book: she has fabulous ideas and covers just about every topic imaginable. She has a great resource section, and incredible reference section (her book is well researched) and honestly, there are not any books like this one on the market. I love how she weaves spiritual ideas with psychological ideas and how she covers all possible topics on how to raise your daughter with a well rounded well being. Moreover, this book gets you thinking about how you were raised, gets you thinking about how you parent yourself and makes you think hard about how the woman you are is the role model for the woman your daughter is going to become. This book is one of the *best* parenting books I have read. I can not recommend it highly enough. It's brilliant. I loved the seven areas of self esteem, how to handle sexuality in the media, how to handle sexuality,and the section on teaching your daughter inner wisdom is unequalled and something every daughter should learn at an early age as soon as possible. This book also validated choices I have made regarding her upbringing. This book helps any mother lay down a foundation for a great mother-daughter lifetime relationship as well as helps a mother improve her relationship with her self. I know I am going to refer back to this book over and over as my daughter grows.

I am new to Dr. Northrup having caught the accompanying TV special to this book on cable. She is a fantastic speaker, and the book is equally compelling. I find myself treating it like a textbook and underlining/starring things I want to return to and never forget, the insights are so amazing. There is a slight new-agey-ness to it (she talks about Chinese medicine, chakras, etc.) which bothered me a little at first, but I trusted her credibility as an M.D. as well. The more I read the more I realize, why do we discredit the wisdom of other cultures with thousands of years more experience than ours (China, India, Native Americans)? there is probably something of value in them as well so I trust Dr. Northrup's judgment. She and her daughters seem very happy and well-adjusted so that's a good sign. This book is definitely a must-read for all women, and I'm considering buying copies for my sisters and mother.

Dr. Northrup has combined her clinical experience with research, insight, and personal experience in her other books. I feel like a friend of hers who has been privileged to share in her professional life, her menopause, her divorce, and her new singlehood. In Mother-Daughter Wisdom, she continues this process by examining this special relationship from birth to adulthood, from nutrition to sexuality to self image. That's a big topic and there's lots of practical stuff you can use, but I think the most important aspect is the way she gets you to think about your relationships. She can actually save you a lot of time by helping you look at your relationship with your mother through her analysis of her own mother. Her take on Mother Bear behavior, developing a love map, the meaning of your daughter's idol worship, and defining how to feel safe will give you many AHA moments. She is that really smart, accomplished friend you wish you could hang out with, and reading this book is the next best thing. Raise your emotional intelligence quotient in one fell swoop with this book!